


nice to meet you

by bethabeepbeep



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Bullying, Dialogue Heavy, Fluff and Angst, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Slow Burn, Some Humor, Strangers to Lovers, Will add tags as I go, it isn't even good angst, its mostly fluffy anyways, kind of, minho's a soft gay for jisung lets be honest, that's in the past tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2019-08-22 11:40:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16597166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethabeepbeep/pseuds/bethabeepbeep
Summary: "now, will you do me the honor of marrying me?"orMinho just needed to tie his shoes. He didn't expect everyone around him to think that he was proposing to some stranger. What a way to meet someone, right?





	1. marry me?

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! I don't know how long this story is going to be but I just keep getting little bouts of inspiration. So, take this badly written chapter!  
> I hope you enjoy! Please leave feedback on how I can improve!

Minho was in a hurry. There was an interview he was meant to be at--two minutes ago. The building was just across the street and if the damn light would turn red he’d be able to get across. He was standing in the midst of a group of about ten people, and they were all starting to annoy him with the way they were talking. It was so loud and he was beginning to get a headache, both from the stress of being late and sleeping for so long.

There was a clearing in the streets starting to appear, and he was sure he’d be able to go by within the next minute or so. After taking a glance down, he realized his boot was untied and cursed silently to himself. He bent down on one knee and started to tie his shoe, sitting up once he heard people cheering and freaking out. He glanced around to see people staring at him--and the stranger in front of him--with their phones out, recording. They all had smiles with different levels of excitement within them on their faces and Minho was growing even more confused as every second passed. What were these people doing? 

A sense of dread filled his heart as he realized the position he was in with the stranger in front of him. Of course, it must’ve looked like--to the unknowing eye--that he was about to propose to them. This could not be happening, especially not right now. He had an interview to get to, which, mind, he was already late to, and he had never even met this person once in his life. Letting down all of those people and having to deal with the embarrassment of it all would make him bomb his interview even more, and he didn’t feel like going through that right now. He desperately needed this job and really hoped the stranger would forgive him for what he was about to do. Most importantly, he hoped he would play along because if not, that would only result in utter mortification.

 

“I’ve been in love with you for as long as I’ve known you. I want the best for you and I will give you that, if you let me. I don't have the money to buy you a ring right now, but I can promise you that once I do, I will buy you the most beautiful ring ever, to match you-” With that, the audience ‘aww’ed and he really hoped the look in his eyes conveyed just how sorry he was, “now, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

Why did he do that? Why didn’t he just move on and let everyone down? This kid--he assumed he was younger, he looked like he could be underage but Minho really hoped not or else this would turn into something completely different and that would be even worse--was about to embarrass the hell out of them both by stating that he didn’t know Minho or just flat out rejecting him.

 

“I- uh… y-yes. I’ll marry you.” They were both blushing wildly at this point, both from embarrassment and something else. Minho couldn’t help but admit that the other boy was absolutely adorable, especially when he was staring at him with wide eyes and a flushed face. 

Minho spluttered as everyone burst out into cheers, and he leaped up to drag the other kid into a bear hug. “Thank you for playing along, I didn’t want to let them down.” He whispered, trying to explain himself to the other. They pulled apart, just barely, to look each other in the face. Minho gave him an apologetic smile and the kid grinned, even going as far as to kiss him on the cheek. It was Minho’s turn to stare at him in shock, and he gave a little laugh as everyone started cheering once more. 

The light finally turned red and the crowd made their way across the street, each going their own way and some people stopping to say congratulations. Minho just gave them an awkward smile and dragged the boy along with him, desperately needing to talk to him in private. Well, as privately as you could on the middle of the sidewalk. Once the street was pretty much clear, Minho stopped them in front of the building that he had an interview in.

“I’m honestly really sorry about that. I’m the type of person that gets really mortified if I embarrass others so I didn’t want to let everyone down and that would’ve just been so embarrassing-” The boy cut his ramble off with a laugh, and Minho stared at him as if he had grown two extra heads. 

He grinned cheekily at him, “it’s alright, I promise. I just found it funny. I’m the same way, so… I was honestly about to do the same thing if you hadn’t confessed your love for me.” He shrugged, smirking at Minho as he bobbed back and forth on his heels. 

Minho stared at him for a long second, trying to decide how much he liked this guy, before sticking his hand out and giving him a charming smile, “I’m Lee Minho.”

“Han Jisung. Nice to meet you, how old are you?”

“I just turned 23,” They let go of each others hands and Minho caught a glimpse of his own watch and his eyes nearly bulged out of his head. “Oh my gosh, I was meant to be at an interview in this building ten minutes ago. There’s no way they're gonna give me the job now.” He groaned, rubbing a hand over his face and through his hair. 

Jisung tilted his head and pointed up at the building they were next to. “This one?” Minho nodded and Jisung grinned. Minho was about to ask him why he was so happy when he started speaking, “my dad owns this building. I’m sure I could get you a job…” He trailed off, a mischievous grin on his face. 

Minho started to grin but frowned once he thought of something, “why?” He paused, “I could be, like, a horrible person. Plus, I, a stranger, just proposed to you.” Jisung couldn’t help but laugh.

“I think if you're telling me that you could be a horrible person, you aren’t. We aren’t strangers, I know your name!” Minho gave him a look and Jisung laughed. “No, honestly, I just think you're really cute and interesting and I’d like to get to know you so… why not?” 

Minho raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms loosely, “I wouldn’t want to get a job just because someones son thinks I’m cute and interesting.” 

Jisung didn’t seem to see the problem and waved him off, “I’ll just make sure they interview you. Who knows if you’re good enough to get the job, anyways?” Minho scoffed, rolling his eyes slightly. “If you roll your eyes at me again, I won’t talk to my dad.”

Minho put his arms up in surrender, smiling softly at Jisung. “Alright, alright, you five year old. I apologize. Thank you.” 

“You wanna know a way that you could really thank me?” Minho titled his head. “Give me your number.”

“How smooth.” Minho said, and brought out his phone. Handing it over to Jisung, “just put your number in my phone and I’ll text you,” He grinned, “maybe.”


	2. what did i do?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> minho remembers some things that he would rather forget, and they both learn that having a 'proposal' in public probably wasn't the smartest thing on earth.
> 
> (some possible triggers)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (possible) trigger warning!! homophobic language, nothing too serious
> 
> i'm sorry dont kill me it's okay now

Minho didn’t actually end up texting Jisung. He wanted to say that he just didn’t have the time and was just busy, but in reality he was a ball of nervousness. Nothing ever really made him like this, which only made it worse. He didn’t even know Jisung, like, at all, and here he was, freaking out about him like a teenage girl just because he was attractive. Minho, himself, was attractive, too, and he knew it, so what was happening?

Jisung was the one who ended up messaging Minho. Jisung did end up getting his dad to reschedule the interview and Minho aced it, if the fact that he had been working there for about half a week says anything. So, Jisung bugged his father about it for two days straight until he finally caved and gave Jisung Minho’s number. Jisung had only just barely escaped an in depth questioning on why he needed the number when his father got an important call, something about new supplies being delivered soon.

 

**_han jisungie_ **

_5:38 p.m._

_hey rat, why didn’t you text me_

 

**_rat hyung <3  _ **

_5:40 p.m._

_maybe i didn’t want to_

_i’m kidding i was just busy sorry_

 

**_han jisungie_ **

_5:41 p.m._

_“busy” ok sure jan_

_anyways when you aren’t “busy” do u wanna hang out_

 

**_rat hyung <3_ **

_5:42 p.m._

_you don’t even know me_

 

**_han jisungie_ **

_5:42 p.m._

_pretty sure the point of hanging out_ _is so i can get to know u, hyung_

 

**_rat hyung <3_ **

_5:43 p.m._

_how do you know that i’m your hyung_

 

**_han jisungie_ **

_5:43 p.m._

_u told me that ur 23, i’m 21, magic_

 

Minho took a moment to huff, rubbing a hand over his face in exasperation. This kid--he could call him that now--was going to be the death of him and he only met him a few days ago, talked to him twice.

 

**_han jisungie_ **

_5:45 p.m._

_are u doing anytihng on halloween_

_anything*_

 

**_rat hyung <3_ **

_5:46 p.m._

_no, why_

 

**_han jisungie_ **

_5:46 p.m._

_do u wanna hang out then_

_at like my apt or smth_

 

**_rat hyung <3_ **

_5:46 p.m._

_idk_

 

**_han jisungie_ **

_5:47 p.m._

_rat_

_just think abt it hyung_

_pls n thx_

 

Minho let out a long sigh, a bad feeling making its home in his stomach. He didn’t want to hurt Jisung. The boy seemed so sweet and he was adorable, Minho was sure he could start an amazing relationship with him if he wanted to. The thing was, he felt like he couldn’t. He didn’t deserve to have someone that nice and caring, especially not a boy. His old high school friends had taught him that much.

 

He should be over it. It shouldn’t still affect him almost seven years later, but it does. It took years for him to build his confidence back up, and he still has some lingering effects. Starting a relationship with Jisung is something that he couldn’t deal with right now, especially since Jisung was such an amazing person already.

 

On the other hand, would it really be worth it to hurt Jisung? Because of something that happened years ago? He has to learn to completely let it go. Some homophobes that wormed their way through his walls shouldn't still affect him--or should they? Saying that they were just ‘some homophobes’ didn’t seem like a good way to put it.

 

\-- _Minho was turning 16 soon, having just started his second year in high school. Last year, he met some really cool then-third years that were willing to be his friend. They were seniors now and Minho was just glad to have some friends older than him. That meant people would be nice to him, right? Sadly, he was wrong. It wasn’t even others that were mean, at least, not at first. Minho knew he shouldn’t have let himself trust them, should’ve known that he was just a kid for them to pick on, didn’t know what extent it was going to go to._

 

_He trusted one of them more than the other. Kim Sam was a transfer student from America, and Minho almost immediately took a liking to him. At first, he thought Sam was just really cool and fun to be around, but it soon turned into something more. Minho hadn’t known he was bisexual for long, no, but he wasn’t dumb and could easily tell when he had feelings for someone. Sam was that someone. He thought Sam returned his feelings, from the way he stared at Minho and from the way they immediately clicked and understood each other. Maybe he did return the feelings, but that wouldn’t matter soon enough._

 

_Sam was the first person that Minho ever came out to. Minho would admit later that it wasn’t the smartest idea he’s ever had, but at that moment he thought he could trust Sam with all of his life._

 

_“Hey, Sam?” It was just a simple inquiry, but Sam turned to look over at Minho with the stars in his eyes. They were hanging out at Sam’s house, munching on some chips that they had picked up from the convenience store on the way home from school. It was winter now, and there was some sleet-like rain pouring down outside. Minho turned 16 a couple months ago._

 

 _Sam hummed as a way to let Minho continue, “can I tell you something?” Sam realized how serious Minho sounded and sat up on his bed, staring at Minho who was down on the floor with an unidentifiable look in his eyes. It seemed… hopeful, but there was something hidden behind it that Minho didn’t notice._ _It took Minho what felt like hours to gather his words and calm down, but in reality it was just a couple minutes. “I…” He trailed off, squeezing his eyes shut tightly. “I’m bisexual. I don’t want you to treat me or think of me any different but I understand if you-” He was cut off by something he didn’t expect at all._

 

_Sam had kissed him._

 

_Minho made a noise of surprise but quickly kissed back, not wanting Sam to pull away just yet. He gripped onto Sam’s shirt collar, pulling him closer and in turn, Sam deepened the kiss. They went slow, but Sam seemed to want more. However, he let Minho lead and didn’t do anything he wouldn’t want to do._

 

 _They pulled away after a minute or so, and Minho was so red he gave tomatoes a run for their money. “Uh…” Minho trailed off, switching between making eye contact with Sam and looking at everything in the room except him. There was a small poster of some american group that Minho didn’t recognize in the corner of Sam’s room, by the closet, and Minho was confused on how he hadn’t noticed it before._ _The confusion soon evaporated as Sam walked on his knees behind Minho, and wrapped his arms around Minho’s waist. Sam whispered something sweet into Minho’s ear and Minho felt as if he was on cloud 9, forgetting all about any worries he had. If only he had noticed the suspicious look in Sam’s eyes, and if only he had thought more about how Sam acted when Minho left. If only._

 

_The next day at school was absolute hell, and Minho nearly dropped out of school due to the following weeks. The day started off fairly okay, if not a bit weird. He couldn’t find Sam, or any of his other senior friends, for that matter, for the first half of the day. That would’ve be fine, he normally didn’t see much of them until lunch since they were older, anyways, but everyone was staring at him everywhere he went and he didn’t even know what he did. Paranoia kept creeping up on him, and there was an awful feeling settling in his stomach. Memories of the previous day kept eating away at him and he couldn’t help but feel like everyone found out. He was starting to beat on himself, and it only made it worse when people starting whispering when he walked by._

 

_He found out what was happening when he got to lunch. People whispered as he passed by with his tray in hand, and he gave his friends a wary look. They were laughing at something but when he sat down, they all stared openly at him, the laughter long gone._

 

_“What are you doing, Minho?” Lee Ji Suk, another ‘friend’ of his, spoke up. He gave him an odd look, tilting his head._

 

_“Sitting…?” This made Ji Suk laugh sarcastically, and Minho kind of felt like crying out of confusion._

 

_“Why? Don’t you know you can’t sit with us now? After what happened yesterday?” He sneered, a nasty look growing on his face. Minho’s lower lip wobbled, and he glanced helplessly at Sam. Sam was glaring at him, and Minho thinks he might’ve been the only one to notice the slight apologetic look he had underneath the harshness. “Yes, what happened with Sam. How could you do that to him?”_

 

_“What did I do? I didn’t do anything to Sam…” Kim Ja-kyung scoffed at him, and he shrunk within himself. What was happening? He didn’t do anything wrong, and Sam was so happy with him the day before._

 

_“So, you didn’t force yourself on him? You didn’t make him pretend like he enjoyed being with you? That stuff scars people, Minho, and I can’t believe you did that to him. You don’t just makeout with someone without their permission, especially a guy, you pansy.” Ja-kyung said, her normally pretty face morphed into a hateful sneer._

 

_“I didn’t do any of that! He said he liked me! He-” Sam stood up angrily._

 

_“I don’t like you! You’re a guy and I’m a guy and that’s disgusting! I’d never willingly kiss you.” Minho stood up and stumbled backwards, completely forgetting about his tray._

 

 _“I-... you… you kissed me first.” He whispered, tears freely making their way down his face and he was surprised that his voice didn’t wobble. He glanced around the table, trying to look at each and every one of those faces and burn them into his brain so he made sure to never speak to them again._ _There was a face he didn’t recognize. It was a kid, seemingly younger than him, and he had chubby cheeks. He resembled a squirrel, in a way, Minho thought bitterly. Minho decided to subconsciously forgive that kid, since he didn’t even know him. He was cute._

 

_Minho quickly shoved that thought away, deciding then and there that he would never let himself get too romantically involved with another guy ever again._

 

_Minho turned to run away and managed to make his way past about five tables before a kid at the back of the room, at a table that was almost unnoticeable, caught his arm and dragged him down to sit next to him._

 

_“I’m Seo Changbin, nice to meet you,” The kid nodded at him, sliding his tray over towards Minho. “Eat, I saw you leave your tray behind,” Minho stared at him in fear, and Changbin’s voice turned softer, “it’s alright. I don’t believe them. Now, come on. Eat something, no one can see us over here.”_

 

 _That was the day Minho’s second year in high school went to shambles, but it was also the day he met Seo Changbin. He probably never would’ve made it out alive if it weren’t for Changbin, but sadly not even Changbin could help him get completely past it. That’s something he’d have to do himself._ \--

 

Minho hadn’t noticed he was crying until he sniffled, and he quickly rubbed his hands over his cheeks. The memory was too much, and he desperately needed something to distract him. He was mostly over what happened, but the months of torture over something as small as his sexuality still tormented him.

Just as Minho was about to push himself off of his couch and go for a much needed walk, his phone dinged. A shaky sigh escaped his mouth as he noticed who sent the message, but he was confused.

 

**_han jisungie_ **

_6:03 p.m._

_dude, do u have twitter? if u do, check the #3 trending_

 

Minho didn’t respond in favor of opening up his twitter app, something he frequently did. After glancing at the trending tag, his breath hitched and his heart picked up it’s pace.

 

The #3 trending was a hashtag, #whataproposal, and attached to it was a video. A video of Minho ‘proposing’ to Jisung, and the tweet had over 200,000 likes and over half a million views. The caption was something cute, and was congratulating Minho and Jisung, but Minho felt like he was about to break down.

 

This could not be happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!! i'll update it as soon as possible. sorry if there are some mistakes, please ignore them!
> 
> if you want to scream at me about stray kids or any group, really, message me on twitter @skzbangwoo
> 
> have a nice day/night!
> 
> p.s.  
> any character in this not in stray kids is completely made it, all relations to real people is completely accidental unless stated otherwise


	3. distracted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> turns out, its a small world
> 
> also.. houston, we have a problem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry for not updating for like over a month,, i've been struggling with how to write this chapter and it kind of sucks but like ?? i'll update again as soon as i can!!
> 
> thank you for the support!

Minho was really about to just drop everything and leave. He could not believe that a video with him in it was trending on Twitter, of all things. If it’s trending Twitter, then it’s probably going to be all over Facebook and probably even posted to Youtube and Instagram. His mom is probably gonna see it and now she’s gonna be so happy for him and will be wondering why he didn’t tell her that he had a boyfriend in the first place. When Minho tells her it isn’t real, she’s gonna be so disappointed, both in the fact that he isn’t actually getting married and for faking something like that.

 

**_han jisungie_ **

_6:06 p.m._

_calm down i know ur prolly panicking_

 

**_rat hyung <3_ **

_6:06 p.m._

_what do u mean. me, lee minho, panicking??????? over a video of me having over 500,000 views???_

_more likely than you’d think_

 

**_han jisungie_ **

_6:07 p.m._

_it’s gonna be okay we just need to talk about this and sort it out_

 

**_rat hyung <3_ **

_6:07 p.m._

_i never thought i’d say this but do you want to come over so we can figure this out?_

 

**_han jisungie_ **

_6:08 p.m._

_sure send me ur address_

  


Minho sent Jisung his address and calmly, although he was freaking out on the inside, sat down on his couch and breathed in and out a few times. Everything was fine. The scream that soon after resounded throughout the apartment said otherwise. It was only ever-so-slightly muffled by the pillow next to Minho, but it’s the thought that counts. It actually helped relieve some stress, but he really hoped no one in the apartment complex heard him.

Seems like Minho was out of luck, though, because not even a minute later, there was a knock on the door.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” Minho huffed and stood up, throwing open the door. The kid on the other side of the door jumped back at the suddenness, and a look of shock crossed his face once he saw Minho. “Oh, I-”

“Yes, this _male_ is perfectly fine. Now go back home and ignore me for the rest of your life, thanks.” Minho felt a little bad when the kids face dropped, so he closed his eyes for a second then let out a sigh before opening them. “Sorry. I’m not really okay, as you can tell.”

“Am I interrupting? Do you need some time alone? I’m sorry, I just recently moved into this complex and my mom always tells me to make friends with my neighbors and to help them out-”

“It’s okay, kiddo. It’s a little weird that your mom wants you to talk to strangers but I appreciate you checking in on me. This might be even weirder but do you want to come inside for some hot cocoa or something?” The kid eyed him suspiciously for about two seconds before shrugging, a large grin appearing on his face suddenly, and Minho subconsciously noted that he had braces.

“I’m always down for cocoa, even if it means I get murdered by a stranger.” Minho snorted and led him inside, glad to have a distraction before Jisung got there.

The door was shut behind them with a light push from Minho, and Minho led the kid over to the couch before flicking the kitchen light on, “do I look like I could murder someone? You’re probably stronger than me.”

“I have to say, I agree.” A light bulb seemed to light up above the kids head, “I am so rude. I forgot to ask you your name. I’m Yang Jeongin, third year of university.”

Minho started to heat up the milk and sat on a stool near the kitchen counter, twisting to the side a bit, “I’m Lee Minho. I graduated from uni about a year ago.”

Jeongin nodded absentmindedly, looking around at everything in the room with curiosity. “So…” He dragged out, his eyes finally landing on Minho again. “Why’d you scream earlier?”

Minho stared at him blankly for a moment, the gears in his head turning slowly. “Do you have twitter?”

Jeongin’s eyebrows furrowed, but he nodded slowly nevertheless, “yes… why is that relevant right now, hyung?”

Minho raised his eyebrows at Jeongin due to the casual honorific, but just sighed in response, “check the #3 trending.”

“Oh, I saw that video! The proposal, right?” He didn’t give Minho time to respond, “it was so cute! Wait, did you scream because you, like, have a problem with it?” Minho barked out a bitter laugh.

“No! Not at all. Go look closer at the video,” Jeongin frowned as he pulled out his phone, seemingly pulling up twitter and checking.

As the video was playing, he switched between looking at his phone and looking up at Minho. Once the short video ended, Jeongin looked up at him with wide eyes, “is that you, hyung? and Jisung-”

Minho stared at him incredulously as there was a knock on the door, which had made Jeongin’s words die off. A sigh that sounded a bit more like a huff filled the room as Minho stood up, talking slow strides to the door. It didn’t take too long, though, because Minho’s apartment wasn’t all that big. Whoever was outside--Minho assumed it was Jisung--knocked again and Minho glared at the door as he reached it, throwing it open, “do you have any patience? Like, at all?”

“No, I do not. Who were you talking-” Jisung stopped short at the sight of Jeongin, footsteps falling once he reached the couch, only a few feet away from the kitchen counter. Jeongin had already drank nearly half of his hot chocolate that Minho had finished preparing at some point in their conversation.

“Jisung, you didn’t tell me you were marrying Minho hyung! You didn’t even tell me you knew him.” Jisungs eyes furrowed together and a crease formed on his forehead.

“What? How do you know Minho? We aren’t getting married?” Jisung turned to look at Minho, and Minho looked like a deer caught in headlights for a moment before he started giggling. Jisung stared at him either in awe or confusion--maybe both--and soon enough started laughing too. Jeongin joined in, despite his confusion, and they all laughed for a good twenty seconds before sobering up and deciding to all sit on the couch.

 

Jeongin left his mug in the sink with a clank before coming over and making himself at home on Minho’s couch, sitting next to Jisung, who was in the middle. “Well, just make yourself at home, then,” Minho rolled his eyes, staring at the boy who seemed way too comfortable in a home of a stranger that he met not even an hour ago.

Jeongin gave Minho a cheeky smile, and Minho ignored him in favor of speaking, “long story short, I just wanted to tie my shoes and everyone thought I was proposing to Jisung and I didn’t want to embarrass anyone so we both went along with it.”

“...naturally,” Jeongin nodded slowly, looking back and forth between Jisung and Minho slowly.

Jeongin inhales shortly after a few seconds, nodding again. “I don’t know if I should believe you or not but I can’t see why you would make this up, but why didn’t you just stop it at that? Why did you keep in contact?”

Minho looked accusingly at Jisung, “he decided that he wanted my number but he gave me his instead. And now that the video has kind of gone viral…” He trailed off as he and Jisung made--in Minho’s opinion, awkward--eye contact. “We can’t really not keep in contact.”

Minho turned his head away and looked at Jeongin with a poker face. He still felt Jisung’s eyes on him but chose to ignore it, subconsciously chewing on his lip nervously. He wasn’t sure how to handle everything, and they desperately needed to figure out what to do about the video.

It was silent for a good minute as everyone processed things and Minho cleared his throat, “so, how do you two know each other?”

Jisung and Jeongin looked at each other in sync before they both broke out into large grins. “Do you want me to tell him or do you want to tell him?” Jeongin sounded like he was teasing Jisung but he simply shook his head and gestured as if to say ‘go ahead’.

“This idiot-” Jisung looked like he was about to interrupt Jeongin but Jeongin didn’t let him, only speaking louder, “fell down the stairs at some studio our friend owns. Our friend wanted me sing for him-” He cut himself off, shaking his head like a dog as he seemed to remember something, “I sing, by the way, but like I was saying, I was there because my friend wanted my help and I was going up the stairs to meet up with him when Jisung came barreling down the stairs and he fell down about seven steps and nearly made me go down with him.”

Minho sputtered in laughter at the image of the situation and Jisung rubbed his neck awkwardly as Jeongin looked on top of the world for making Minho laugh. “Was - was he okay?” He stuttered as if Jisung wasn’t there, only just starting to calm down from his laughter.

“I was fine,” Jisung spoke in place of Jeongin, a soft and embarrassed smile on his face, “just had a couple bruises and a crook in my neck for a few days. Chan worried like he was my mom, though, once he heard about what happened.”

Minho hummed, “Chan? As in, Bang Chan?”

Jisung tilted his head and Jeongin looked just as curious, “you know him? He’s the one I went to go record for,” Jeongin spoke, a question in his voice.

He nodded rapidly, “yeah! He’s friends with Seo Changbin, and they’re both really good friends of mine.”

Jisung and Jeongin shared looks of surprise, “small world, I guess.”

Jeongin laughed at Jisung’s words, nodding furiously. “Seeing as I’m Minho’s neighbor and now we all kind of know each other.”

Jeongin looked suspicious for a second before he started speaking, scooting out of Jisung’s reach. “But, anyways, Jisung and I figured out we went to the same university. Well, before he dropped out to become a soundcloud rapper,” Jisung stammered at Jeongin, who had a smug smile on his face as he shuffled even further away from Jisung before just standing up and running behind the couch.

Jisung was about to stand up to chase after him when Minho pulled his arm down, keeping his grip firm. “Yah! No running in my apartment, you’ll break something!” They turned to stare at Minho before laughing at him.

“Sorry, mom,” Jeongin sassed, coming back over and sitting against the arm rest.

“Jeongin, I just met- nevermind,” Minho sighed, standing up and going over to the kitchen to get himself some water.

“Anyways, tell me more about our little soundcloud rapper,” Minho teased, throwing a grin over his shoulder at the both of them--if you ask Minho, he’ll let you know it was mostly aimed at Jisung, though.

“Stop talking about me like I’m not here! I’m older than you, Jeongin, so therefore I’m the boss of you,” Jisung whined, glaring at Jeongin with his cheeks puffed out.

“How else am I supposed to get to know you?” The oldest asked innocently as he walked back into the room, taking a gulp of his water.

Jisung rolled his eyes, shrugging, “I don’t know, maybe you could talk to me? You do kind of owe me, seeing as you didn’t text me even though you told me you would.”

Minho pouted, “I was busy,” Jisung shook his head, mouthing a ‘no you weren’t’ as Minho kept speaking, “anyways, how are we supposed to-”

Jisung cut him off with a yell directed at Jeongin, “yah! why do you have my phone?”

Jeongin shrugged off Jisung’s arms as he tried to get his phone back, not once looking up from the screen, “it buzzed and you were distracted so I checked it for you,” There was a hint of nervousness in his voice that Minho and Jisung noticed.

“Jeongin, what’s wrong?” Jeongin finally looked up from Jisung’s phone, and he was chewing on the inside of his cheek nervously.

“I think we have a problem,” He held the phone out for them both to see.

 

**_franklee94 mentioned you in a reply!_ **

 

_y’all i found one of their @s, @hanjisung00_

 

**_709 retweets    3456 likes_ **


	4. dramatic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they come up with a plan.
> 
> no one ever said it was a good or a bad plan, but I guess we're gonna have to figure that out as we go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know it's been a while since i updated oops but here you go. pls leave feedback! i love getting constructive criticism.
> 
> have a nice day and enjoy~

It only took three seconds for chaos to erupt. Jisung was trying to reassure them that it would all be okay, Jeongin stood up and paced as he thought--out loud--about how to fix this. Minho was just panicking silently and was on the verge of tears. Jisung’s phone was buzzing and binging over and over again, to the point where he stopped speaking and angrily turned off the notifications.

Minho was about to let out some shaky words that may or may not have made sense when there was a knock on the door. Silence fell over the room and they all turned to look at the door. Minho sniffled and looked at Jisung and Jeongin before standing up and very slowly walking over to the source of the knock. After taking a quick look through the peephole, he almost immediately threw the door open. “Hyung!” 

He more or less collapsed onto Chan, and despite his confusion, he wrapped his arms tightly around Minho. “Minho, is everything alright?” Chan frowned slightly at the sight of Minho’s apartment. “Why do you all look so… tense?” 

“Blame Twitter,” Minho mumbled into the junction of Chan’s shoulder and neck before finally letting go. “I’m sorry, I forgot you were supposed to come over today. Come in and I’ll explain everything.”   
  


~~~~~~~~

 

“So… what you’re trying to tell me is that you pretended to propose to Jisung because you didn’t want to embarrass anyone… and now someone leaked his twitter?”

Minho nodded, looking at Jeongin and Jisung back and forth as he realized how dumb it sounded out loud. He absentmindedly noticed that Jisung was already staring at him, emotions swirling around in his eyes. Minho tilted his head at Jisung after doing a double take, but Chan brought his attention back to him. “Just tell them it wasn’t you? The video isn’t the best quality, anyway.”

Minho looked at Chan, dumbfounded, for a good minute. He dragged his gaze over to Jisung and Jeongin, “why didn’t we think of that?”

“Because it was me! Do you really think people on the internet would believe that it wasn’t?” Jisung huffed, stress showing on his face. 

“You could just actually get married,” Murmured Jeongin sarcastically. Minho wasn’t really looking but he heard a ‘thump’ right after Jeongin said that, so he could only assume what Jisung did. 

“Don’t hit him, Jisung,” Chan scolded, and Minho heard Jisung mock him under his breath.

“Being immature isn’t going to solve anything,” Minho sighed, running a hand over his face as he leaned into Chan’s side. Chan wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer.

“Look, you guys have a ton of options. I think the best one would be to just ignore it but people are starting to say stuff. Jisung, you’re pretty well known, so this won’t stay quiet for long,” Chan sounded a bit too calm for this situation, but Minho was focused on more important things.

Such as, “well known?” He queried, sitting up slightly to look at Chan, then Jisung. Jeongin was just sitting there scrolling around on his phone, apparently taking no interest in the things going on around him. Jisung had told him that the ‘adults’ would ‘sort it out’, after all.

Chan raised his eyebrows and looking at Minho in confusion, then turned to look at Jisung with an incredulous look on his face. “Does he not know?”

“It’s not my fault he ignored me… we only just started talking recently!” Minho sputtered at Jisung’s words but was shushed by Chan. 

“You know Changbin and I are in a group called 3RACHA, right?” Chan asked Minho.

Minho nodded, “you talk about it all the time.”

“Well, Jisung is in it too. That’s why it has a three, there’s three of us.”

Minho grumbled, “I guess that’s partly my fault for not noticing,” He paused, then looked at Jisung accusingly. “Wait, you said you knew them! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You didn’t ask…” He trailed off.

Minho lurched forward and flicked Jisung on the forehead before Chan pulled him back, flicking him on the forehead too. “You would’ve figured out, anyway. It’s not that big of a deal.”   
  
Chan wrapped his arms around Minho’s waist to keep him still, and Chan noticed as Jisung’s eyes flickered down to where his arms were wrapped around him. Chan saw a hint of jealousy in his stare and rolled his eyes, shifting to make himself comfortable. “Jisung, stop staring. What do you want to do?”

“I’m only 21!” Jisung cried out, “I can’t get married. He doesn’t even know me-” He cut himself off, stuttering, “we don’t even know each other, I mean.”

 

“I have an idea, but it’s a little dramatic.” Jeongin finally spoke up, his phone now face down on the couch next to him and his attention brought to the conversation.

“This whole thing is dramatic. What’s your idea?” Jisung deadpanned.

“So, Chan hyung has been talking my ear off about this super important Halloween party that 3RACHA is performing at in a few days, right?” He paused to look at Chan for confirmation, and Chan nodded slowly. “He’s been saying that this is your guys’ chance to make or break. If Jisung brings Minho as a date, they can just confirm the engagement-” Jisung and Minho both started to cut him off but Chan held up his hand as if saying to let him speak. “-and pretend to be engaged for a while. Then, they can break it off saying that maybe Minho wasn’t prepared, or wasn’t sure what he was getting into. Therefore, you both won’t have to deal with it after that.”

“Or we could just be normal and not do things for fame? I could just come out with a statement and say that it was just a publicity stunt?” Jisung asked in exasperation.

Chan let out a long sigh, “we can’t do that. We don’t exactly have to do Jeongin’s plan but if you come out and say it was all fake, do you have any idea how much that would affect our reputation? The media would hate us.”

“If we do Jeongin’s plan, people might hate  _ me _ ,” Minho pointed out. 

Chan pulled away from Minho and rubbed both of his hands over his face, “you’re right, but Jeongin is actually onto something. The media would pay a lot of attention to 3RACHA if they learned that Jisung was getting engaged and the public was reacting so well to it,” He sighed for the nth time that day. “But it’s difficult. There’s probably a much simpler way to deal with this but this would give 3RACHA the most publicity, but I get that it’s dramatic and not the best way to go about this.”

 

It was silent for a long moment as they all looked at each other in thought before Minho finally spoke up, “we could just say that I’d prefer not to be in the eye of the media. If you think about it, Jisung and I are probably going to become friends anyway, since that’s what you want, right?” He asked Jisung, who nodded slowly. “We could be fake engaged for a bit, then I’ll just disappear from the media after someone releases a statement. We could just hang out every once and a while, so they know I’m still around or whatever, but other than that it’ll pretty much die down.” 

“I still feel like this is a really bad idea,” Jisung groaned dramatically, looking nervous. “We should just talk to our manager, first.”

Chan nodded furiously, “of course. He’ll probably be calling soon anyways.”

Jisung spoke to Minho hesitantly, “we can do that if you want,” He offered Minho a sheepish smile. “As long as the manager says it’s okay,” He added on as an afterthought.

“Oh, why not? I want to be your friend and this is a fun way to get close. Maybe a little dramatic, but fun nonetheless,” He grinned cheekily, a warm feeling making its way into his heart as they all smiled back at him.

It was time for Minho to stand up for himself. He couldn’t let what happened years ago stop him from being happy. Being dramatic has always been Minho’s thing, anyway. Life’s been a bit too quiet for a bit too long, and Minho was willing to change that, and he has friends to support and laugh with him throughout it. Who knows what might happen?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! i'll update as soon as possible. who knows what can happen? :)


	5. blame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nothing like a lighthearted day to follow up the drama~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm really sorry that I haven't updated in a while! this chapter is kind of just a filler :{
> 
> i haven't really known what to write because I just feel like this story is going nowhere but I dunno. I'll figure it out
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this short little chapter, nevertheless!

There was a loud rustle of leaves, followed by a yelp, as Jisung pushed Chan into a bush. 

 

“If you don’t shut up, I’m going to…” He trailed off, not sure what else he could do other than pushing him into more bushes. “Do something. I’m going to do something, if you don’t shut your mouth, hyung.”

 

They had decided to go on a walk to talk about things after a meeting with their manager in the building that Chan owned. Despite owning the studio, Chan and the rest of 3RACHA still had a managing team. Jisung thought it was stupid, and never failed to voice his thoughts about it. However, he sat down and cooperated as they talked to the manager about everything going on. 

 

Chan glared at Jisung after he got out of the bush, hair all messed up and clothes covered in thorns and mini leaves. “That hurt,” He huffed, brushing himself off and rubbing his scratched up arms. “All I was saying was… what happened to “I’m only 21, I can’t get married!”” 

 

Jisung grumbled to himself, shooting a glare at Chan from the corner of his eyes. “It’s not like this is real,” He crossed his arms, a feeling of bitterness making its way into his heart.

 

“It could be,” Chan teased, winking at Jisung before he got pushed into another bush.

 

Cackles filled the street, both from Jisung and Chan. Chan was laughing because he knew Jisung had a small crush on Minho. Shocker. Jisung was laughing because Chan looked like in idiot in the bush. “All jokes aside-” He cut himself off, leaping out of the bush with wide eyes. “Something bit me,” Jisung nearly fell onto the concrete with laughter. Chan huffed, “anyway. I know you like him but go easy on him, yeah? I know you know what happened in the past. You’re gonna have to tell him before you get into something serious, if he opens up.”

 

Jisung walked in silence for a couple seconds, looking at the ground. He nodded slowly, glancing up at Chan. “I know,” He whispered, “I want to make it up to him.”

 

“It wasn’t your fault,” Chan poked him in the side. “You know it wasn’t.”

 

Jisung threw his arms out and faced Chan. “I could’ve done something,” He whined, immediately feeling embarrassed for sounding and looking like a child. Chan put his hands on Jisung’s shoulders and shook him a bit, forcing eye contact.

 

“Jisung, you did all you could. You got out of that friend group as soon as you could. You can’t take any of the blame. He’s okay, now.”

 

Jisung pouted, nodding slowly after he let out a sigh. “Fine, but I’m still gonna show him all of the love I can-”

 

He cut himself off quickly once he saw Minho walking up to them. Where had he come from?

 

Minho let out a small giggle, looking back and forth between Chan and Jisung. “Am I interrupting something? You look like father and son,” Minho let himself laugh again, “and what’s this I hear about showing someone all the love? That’s supposed to be saved for me!”

 

Jisung sputtered, whipping around so he was facing Minho. “What?”

 

Minho raised his eyebrows and gave Jisung a look. “Have you forgotten that I proposed to you?” He wiggled his eyebrows, winking.

 

Jisung could hear Chan snickering under his breath as his face heated up, and he nodded rapidly, nudging Chan with his elbow. Jisung was glad Minho could make a joke of the situation now, but he didn't like to be teased. “Of course not!” Jisung huffed, trying to calm down. “What happened to awkward and panicky Minho? I want him back!” Jisung joked, grinning at Minho.

 

Minho rolled his eyes, coming up and shoving his way in between Chan and Jisung and throwing an arm around the both of them. “Well, if we’re going to be engaged, I might as well prepare to woo the media with our romance.” 

 

Jisung and Chan made eye contact as Minho stared forward, moving them along. “So,” Minho beamed, “I’m hungry. Where to?”

 

“Ha! Are you paying, then?” Chan snarked, ruffling Minho’s hair as they all walked in a random direction.

 

Minho eyed Chan with a sassy look, “how about we all pay for ourselves?” 

 

Chan pretended to think for a moment and made eye contact with Jisung yet again. Minho looked at both of them. “Hmm, I don’t know, Minho. Jisung and I might have to think about it,” He teased.

 

Jisung nodded, pulling a poker face. “Definitely. I don’t know…” He trailed off, trying to fight back a smile. Minho rolled his eyes and pushed the both of them away, walking ahead of them. 

 

Minho spun around and rose his arms in a shrugging motion. “Alright, suit yourselves. I was gonna go fill up on some samgyeopsal and ramen, but if you don’t wanna come with… guess I’ll just have to go alone,” He spun back around and started walking ahead. Chan and Jisung made eye contact for the nth time that day before simultaneously running forward and throwing an arm around Minho, shouting nonsense. 

 

Looks like it was going to be a good day. None of them would have it any other way. They could save the drama and planning for another day.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi so owo i'll update as soon as I get another chapter written. 
> 
> Would you guys like me to write about the dinner 'date'? oop pls leave feedback
> 
> hope you enjoyed~
> 
> tell me what you would like me to write! <3 have a nice day/night!


	6. Author's Note

Hello! I'm really sorry for not updating this story in a while. I have no real excuse besides being unmotivated.

I was just wondering if anyone actually wanted me to continue this story. If anyone has any ideas for the rest of the story, please feel free to comment.

Also, please do not copy my work. It takes me hours to write these chapters and I put a lot of effort into it. So, please, don't copy my (or anyone else's) work.

Have a nice day everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> if you want to scream with me about stray kids (or any group, really) just message me on twitter @skzneuf 
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter! Until next time.


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